Welcome to another edition of Battle of the Brands from Smark Out Moment, where we compare this week's episodes of Raw and SmackDown and determine which one of the two was the better show.
WWE Monday Night Raw - July 26, 2021 - T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - July 30, 2021 – Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = Drew McIntyre vs Veer was awful, whilst the women's matches on offer were mediocre at best. Thankfully, some decent wrestling was on offer as Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee. It's just a shame that Lee had to lose, as he looks a shadow of his former self.
SmackDown = All of the matches featured this week were of a solid and entertaining quality. Almost all, that is, as the 24/7 Championship match was the drizzling shits. Jimmy Uso vs Dominik Mysterio was the clear standout match, featuring a fun and important finish.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = The promo between Nikki A.S.H. and Charlotte Flair was the very definition of tedious, setting the tone for the rest of the show.
SmackDown = John Cena's show opening promo was tight! He spoke well, and actually made me laugh for once!
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = Why should we care about Nikki A.S.H. when WWE doesn't truly believe in her? I don't care how far up the card she was this week by competing in the main event, she is an absolute afterthought to Charlotte Flair. The unwritten rule that Flair dominates the women's division is back in force, making Nikki look like an absolutely underwhelming Raw Women's Champion.
SmackDown = Finn Balor was made to look like an absolute fool! Why was he inserted into the WWE Universal Championship match at SummerSlam, at least on paper, if he was never going to feature. Why?!? He now looks like an idiot, whilst John Cena has now alienated a large portion of the fans who gave him the benefit of the doubt upon his return.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw was middling at times, but it did have a few bright moments that helped the pacing feel better.
SmackDown = SmackDown was paced well, but Sasha Banks' heel turn was telegraphed by the amount of television time remaining.
WINNER: SmackDown
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for giving Karrion Kross some level of redemption, however, it is a crying shame this came at the expense of Keith Lee.
Raw loses points for not giving Nikki A.S.H. any credibility as Raw Women's Champion.
Raw also loses points for once again making T-BAR and MACE look like idiots. Dominik Dijakovic deserves so much better than this shit!
SmackDown gains points for trying to generate some threat to Bianca Belair from the lesser featured names of the SmackDown women's division.
SmackDown also gains points for continuing to highlight Baron Corbin's fall from grace.
SmackDown loses points for not having Finn Balor openly say how he pissed he is to have been usurped by John Cena in the WWE Universal Championship match.
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+1 / -2) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = SmackDown
With a score of 5 to 0, SmackDown crushes Raw to win this week's Battle of the Brands. The issue is that WWE television is largely a boring and dull affair, which means AEW has the perfect opportunity to capitalise. Both Raw and SmackDown need to improve, and improve fast!
That's my pick for the better show of the week, but how do YOU stand?
Which was better, Raw or SmackDown?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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